Spider Mother Taught Me about Faith

Sunny Greetings! Welcome to the de-light-filled, meaning-full, Home of Wellness and Spirituality! Here’s a story from my childhood of how Spider Mother taught me about Faith.

Are you afraid of Spiders? When I was a little girl, maybe about six years old, I was scared to death of taking a shower in our home’s bathroom. This is because I had seen what seemed like a lot of spiders in the tub and several of them were quite large.

For the most part, I was a tomboy and led a rather rough and tumble life. My backyard was the wide open fields and forests of central Pennsylvania. But I always, always, ALWAYS checked the tub and the shower curtain thoroughly before I stepped into it. And despite my careful scouting, I still believed that I could easily miss seeing a spider and one day one would just fall on my head or shoulders. It got to the point that I dreaded taking a shower. I was miserable at the thought of it.

Then one day, I began to think, as I was taking yet another frightening shower, that there MUST BE some solution to this fear of spiders. And it dawned on me, in my innocence and youth, to sing “Jesus loves Me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so…….” and so on. So, with the water pouring down upon me, I struck up the song.

As a child, my thoughts were always dancing about. As I sang this “Jesus Loves Me,” my mind turned to….whatever thoughts they were, I do not recall. What I do remember is —for a time, I did not pay attention to the song, but turned to other thoughts. Then, in a flash of revelation there came the thought: “I am not afraid anymore!”

This felt like a total miracle to me. I was, in my little soul/spirit, totally amazed that–just like that–fear had been vanquished with a song. But of course, it was not just any song. I had chosen a song of faith, believing that “little ones to Him belong,” and Boom! There was the proof.

Now today when I look back, I want to give credit where credit is due. Spiders are generally not the most popular of creatures. But if I find them in my home, I try to catch them by placing a cup over them and sliding a heavy piece of paper under the cup. Then I carry them outside. I am grateful to Spider Mother for working with the Divine Logos, the Christ, for teaching me a profound lesson on the power of faith.

As I have said, my teacher, Grandmother Pa’Ris’Ha, was raised by her Cherokee grandmother. Pa’Ris’Ha has gifted me with a worldview that sees all natural beings as sacred. If these creatures are dangerous or fearful, obviously, they are to be respected and dealt with cautiously. But at the same time, they are part of the Divine One that is in All Things. And the Divine One works through them.

There is no contradiction at all in my heart or mind, in embracing both a Christian faith (with some divergence from classic mainstream doctrine) and the concept that there is an Intelligence called Spider Mother that can work hand in hand with the One that is called the Christ.